Things to share from my business journey

What makes a good press release?

The last thing you want if you’ve gone to the effort of writing a press release for your organisation is to have it end up in a bin in someone’s office, so make sure that it is formatted correctly. There is a generally accepted layout for press releases. If you follow that you have a reasonable chance that someone might read it.

The first requirement is that it is concise and to the point. Keep it to about an A4 page in length and write it so that it holds the reader’s attention, with a short catchy heading. Don’t ramble!

Start with the ‘news’. It must be relevant right now or it isn’t useful to any news service. You can go into a little background information later. Highlight the uniqueness of your product or service, how it will benefit them and how it will save them money or time. Give them a reason to print it. Perhaps it relates to something newsworthy at the moment? That is a great way to catch the eye of the journalists.

The release must be interesting, contain all of the relevant information required, and be written so that it could be printed as it is.

Include a direct “quote” in your press release and make sure that you attribute it to the right person! Journalists love a good quote.

Don’t use jargon or assume that some people will know something about your subject area. Write as though you are writing for the general population because unless your topic is industry specific, that’s who will be reading it.

If you are hosting an event include all details such as time, location and cost.

It is a good idea to be specific and know exactly who you are sending it to, and it is recommended that you follow up by contacting that person at a later date to make sure they received it and gauge their interest. Good Luck!